CSGC Links News September 2015

The County Sligo Golf Club

Issue 10 – September 2015

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GOLFERS ARE MASOCHISTS says Jack Nicklaus WHY WE PLAY 18 HOLES It all began at St Andrews GIMMEES IN GOLF Solheim Cup Controversy TARMAC ROAD Integral part of the course?

The County Sligo Golf Club

Issue 10 – September 2015

Gimmes – should they be allowed?

Would it perhaps be better if you had to hole every putt in matchplay just as you do in strokeplay, so there were no gimmes in golf?

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Certainly the recent Solheim Cup controversy would have been avoided if this was the case.

Players were in tears after the incident on the 17th green helped holders Europe take a 10-­‐6 lead at the Solheim Cup. Europe's Charley Hull and fourball partner Suzann Pettersen beat Alison Lee and Brittany Lincicome, of the United States, after Lee picked up her ball.

But if everyone is eager not to lose, why would anyone ever concede a missable putt when they still have a chance to win or at least tie?

One of the problems with gimmes in golf is that everyone’s perception of what constitutes a missable putt differs. We’ve all played friendlies with someone whose ‘gimme range’ extends to laughable proportions.

Lee thought an 18-­‐inch putt had been conceded as Hull had walked away. But Pettersen said they had not conceded and the hole went to Europe who won two up on the 18th. Both Hull and Lee, playing in her first Solheim Cup, had to be consoled by team officials amid claims Europe had broken the game's moral code by not conceding from such a short distance.

Yet we’re all only too aware how nerve-­‐ wracking even 18in putts can be when the pressure’s really on. We’ve all been given putts that we, quite frankly, didn’t fancy, and we’ve all resented being asked to hole others, either as a result of indignation blurring our judgement, or a deep-­‐down awareness that it isn’t really a gimme, and could make us look a tad foolish.

The County Sligo Golf Club

Issue 10 – September 2015

Continued >

Let’s go back to the 1969 Ryder Cup at Royal Birkdale, where Jack Nicklaus made probably the most famous concession of all to Tony Jacklin. With Jacklin facing a two and a half-­‐ footer on the final green of the final match to tie the Cup, Nicklaus famously picked up his opponents marker, saying, “I don’t think you’d miss, but in the circumstances I’d never give you the opportunity.” It was a spontaneous act of true sportsmanship after an epic encounter.

Fast-­‐forward 16 years to The Brabazon Course at The Belfry, where Craig Stadler famously missed a tiddler half the length of Jacklin’s to gift Sandy Lyle and Bernhard Langer an unexpected half and help turn the momentum Europe’s way.

The 15-­‐inch putt would have been given almost every time in club matchplay encounters – the length most club golfers would feel righteous indignation about were it not to be conceded.

And yet, and yet… the 1982 Masters champion, no less, somehow contrived to miss. Was he rankled at being made to putt out; did he perhaps not give it his full attention? Either way, an apparently unmissable putt remained above ground.

All of which leads to the question, wouldn’t

matchplay be a lot simpler if every putt had to be holed, just as in strokeplay?

Maybe, but would you then lose that extra psychological element that makes matchplay so fascinating? The kind of mind games where three-­‐footers for halves are generously conceded early on lulling opponents into a false sense of security.

Then, when things really matter, a two-­‐footer isn’t conceded two holes from home, triggering a confused and even resentful response that often manifests itself in an edgy and uncertain stroke.

If you had to hole every putt, you would possibly deprive matchplay of that intriguing mind-­‐ games element you just don’t get in strokeplay.

Conversely, you’d instantly eliminate the resentment that sometimes accompanies the awarding or otherwise of gimmes, and nowhere is that resentment more keenly felt than in the player who has just missed what he felt should have been a gimme… which is kind of ironic, isn’t it?

It’s almost as though it has become socially unacceptable to make someone hole the kind of putt we all like to think we never miss. But misplaced sympathy is rarely a useful ally in the quest for victory, and deep down, most of us do want to win.

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The County Sligo Golf Club

Issue 10 – September 2015

Course Managers Report – Mark Millar The new sprayer was delivered last month and already it is saving money and time on the Links. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Management and the Club Members for making this investment.

Work has started on the extension of the 7th green (photo below).

Course Architect Pat Ruddy was present for two days to oversee the construction of the new extension. The green and surrounds have now been shaped and seeded. New pipe work for irrigation has also been installed. The new 8th tee will be turfed shortly and will be ready for use at next years West of Ireland.

The next stage of the Revitalisation work will commence in mid October, preparing the approach to the new 3rd green.

A new tee has been built at the 5th, to the right of the shelter. This ‘trial’ tee will be used during the winter months to give members a ‘feel’ for the shape of the hole as it’s played from the new Championship tee. Members feedback on the new tee will decide if it is to become a permanent fixture.

The greens on the Championship Course have been running consistently at around 9ft on the stimp-­‐ meter which would be regarded as a little slow. This will improve over the next couple of weeks when we start brushing and double cutting. Cut height remains at 4.5mm which will help with the 4

The County Sligo Golf Club establishment of the new fescue seed. It is important to protect the greens as much as possible with good grass covers leading into the winter.

There is a good fescue sward establishing on most greens due to the excellent results from the over-­‐seeding program. The four greens that were sprayed with Rescue, (the 6th,7th,9th and 11th ) have all recovered well and are now clear of any undesirable grasses.

This program has worked really well and feedback suggests that there wasn’t too much pain for the golfer! I will be pushing hard next year to ‘blanket spray’ all 18 greens at once with Rescue as this will really benefit the greens in the long term. The downside will be limited, a short time frame when the greens will be patchy as the unwanted grasses die off but this will be offset by the rapid establishment of the newly seeded fescue grass.

There is not a links golf course in the country that is not using Rescue in some form. I recently visited Portstewart GC where they have blanket sprayed (Rescue) and re-­‐seeded nine fairways this year.

They started a similar program to ours on their greens three years ago and they are already reaping the benefits of top class putting surfaces with lower input and maintenance costs. You could say we are already three years behind.

Course updates and work notices are posted regularly on the Links notice board in the clubhouse.

Conor Nolan, Links Consultant from the STRI, will visit the course on October 15th.

Issue 10 – September 2015

Work Completed in September Greens •

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All greens have been sprayed with fertiliser to help the new fescue seed establish. Using a liquid feed of sulphate of ammonia and iron. There has also been 12 ton of top-­‐ dressing sand spread.

The new 3rd green has been hollow-­‐ cored, over-­‐seeded and sanded. The surround has also been top-­‐dressed. I am trying to push this green on to have it in play in March next year.

The Bomore greens have been sprayed with moss killer and hollow-­‐cored to improve aeration.

Tees & Collars •

Sprayed with a selective herbicide for weed control (Second application).

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Tees have been top-­‐dressed with 15 ton of sand.

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All tees have been seeded with fescue seed.

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Collars have also been seeded.

Fairways •

Championship and Bomore fairways have been sprayed with a Herbicide for weed control (Second application) .

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Sprayed with Sulphate of Ammonia @ 50kg ha, Potash @ 25kg ha and Iron @ 8kg ha.

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The County Sligo Golf Club Other Work Completed • • • • • • •

Work planned for October Greens • •

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Possible overseeding, weather peremitting.

Hydro jet greens to aid aeration.

Other work • • • • • • •

7th HOLE GREEN EXTENSION

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Sprayed Roundup in bunkers to control weeds.

Sprayed Roundup in car park to kill weeds.

Banks mown using flymo and strimmed.

Rabbit holes and divots filled on 10th,11th,& 12th fairways.

Ball washers have been painted.

New ‘trial’ tee signs installed on 16th tees (Members feedback welcomed).

The bridge at the 8th green has been relayed with Astroturf.

Fertiliser spread on turf nurseries.

Seeded out two areas at Bomore to be used as a turf nursey next year.

Issue 10 – September 2015

Seeding of 7th green and surrounds.

Install Irrigation on 7th green.

Patch wear areas with new turf.

Turfing of new 8th Championship tee.

Finish turfing of new 11th tee.

Re-­‐turf path ways at 13th,17th and 18th holes.

Commence cutting back long rough.

The County Sligo Golf Club

Issue 10 – September 2015

Why we play 18 holes

'If you accept that the Old Course at St. Andrews is ‘The original course’ (and there is precious little argument), then all courses created since are to some degree copies. We build in good faith, courses of 18 holes (and not 15 or 20) in emulation of the original. We build sand bunkers in the mountains of Japan or in the swamps of Florida only because we are trying to copy the Old Course and its features.'

Little needs to be added to these words of five time Open Champion Peter Thomson. Still, it is important to recognise why the Old Course has eighteen holes, and not 15 or 20. The Old Course originally had 22 holes, ten of which were played twice -­‐ once in each direction -­‐ first on the outward journey and again going back towards the town. The 11th and 22nd holes were only used once during each round.

In 1764, The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews reduced the number of holes to eighteen. This later became a standard because the Royal and Ancient Golf Club became a leading authority after more or less defeating The Honorable Company of Edinburgh Golfers at Musselburgh in a power struggle.

Musselburgh had seven holes, and this could easily have become a standard had the club prevailed in the battle against The R&A. Here are the minutes of this significant meeting in 1764: 'The captain and gentlemen golfers are of the opinion that it would be for the improvement of the links that the first four holes should be converted into two. They have therefore agreed that for the future they shall be played as two holes in the same way as presently marked out.'

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The County Sligo Golf Club

Issue 10 – September 2015

Continued >

After this change and the gradual strengthening of the R&A's status as an influential body in the game, other clubs soon followed the Old Course model. Still, this did not occur until the 1870's and 80's. Until then, there were many courses all over Scotland that had a different number of holes.

The Open Championship (British Open) started in 1860 on a twelve hole course in Prestwick. Allan Robertson, the professional and ballmaker at St. Andrews, once laid out a 10 hole course in Barry.

Montrose once had 25 holes. There are many more examples.

It is interesting that it still took more than a century for this trend to take shape, almost the same amount of time that has now passed since eighteen holes became the norm. It is easy to get stuck in the status quo, but if we try to think in centuries instead of decades, it does not sound so unlikely that two hundred years from now, people will look at these last 120-­‐130 years as a mere learning curve for the golf industry.

We have followed the eighteen hole standard now for roughly 120 years. We still do it, even though I am sure we can all agree that today’s parameters are vastly different from those that applied to the game in 1764 or in 1890, when Tom Morris laid out two outstanding eighteen hole courses: Muirfield in Scotland and County Down in Northern Ireland.

‘We have followed the eighteen hole standard now for roughly 120 years’ The R&A’s decision in 1764 is perhaps the most significant single decision that has been made in the history of golf so far. But what is its true message?

Can it not be understood that the number of holes on a golf course should simply be dictated by the nature of the terrain, how much land is available and how the holes may be reasonably arranged to form the most pleasurable layout? Will it really take us more than a quarter of a millennium to figure this out?

Do you think that those who attended the meeting in St. Andrews in 1764 ever considered or expected that 250 years later, people would still be investing a great deal of effort and money to produce courses with the same number of holes -­‐ no matter what -­‐ even if the available land did not really suggest it? Do you think this is what they were trying to establish?

I think we all agree that golf rounds now take too long, taking well over 4 hours. Golf courses, especially new ones, have become much more difficult...and a lot longer. Most people these days simply don’t have the time or the patience for the game.

Old Tom Morris (left) and Allan Robertson (right).

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Will the day come when we revert to shorter, less difficult and more fun courses or even consider 14 or 16 hole layouts!

The County Sligo Golf Club

Issue 10 – September 2015

Should a tarmac road ever be an integral part of the course?

There are a number of annoying golf rules that seem to give us a particularly bad deal. But the Rules of Golf’s real gem is undoubtedly the tarmac or other distinctly hard-­‐surfaced road or pathway that for some unfathomable reason the committee in its infinite wisdom has deemed an integral part of the course. In other words, if you’re on it you either play it or take a penalty.

yourself having to play it from a rock-­‐hard pathway or road.

No wonder the hole is renowned for humiliating cricket scores and fraught tempers. Walk to the 18th tee and it’s a similar story – mis-­‐club or mishit your drive and the sparks will be flying as you attempt to pick a clean mid-­‐iron off the neatly tarmacked Granny Clark’s Wynd that crosses the fairway at 240 yards.

It could be argued that this is both blatantly ‘Damage Even if you do knock it on from here, you’ll be unfair and practically your 5 -­‐iron heading straight back to your club pro to get the irresponsible in the loft and lie checked, and get those irritating or sand modern era, but that’s scratches and scrapes ground out of your costly exactly what golf’s wedge’ 7-­‐iron as much as possible. But you know it’ll outdated integral road never be the same again! rule asks you to do – damage your 5-­‐iron or sand wedge, perhaps irreparably, David Howell plays off the tarmac on the Old Course or take a penalty drop.

Nowhere is this more prevalent than on the Old Course at St Andrews.

Knock it through the back of the already devilishly difficult 17th – not hard to do as anyone who’s ever played there will readily testify – and not only do you now face an almost impossible chip up and over a 4ft bank onto a downslope, but it’s highly likely you’ll also find

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The County Sligo Golf Club

Issue 10 – September 2015

‘Unfortunately Golfers are Masochists’ According to retired clubmaker Barney Adams, the great majority of golfers should be moved up the tee to play courses from a shorter distance. And not just a little. At least 500 yards in most cases, which at some courses would put the so-­‐called "men's tees" pretty close to the "ladies' tees." And women should move way up about 1,000 yards.

It's all in the interest of recapturing some of the fun that everyday golf has been losing, along with speeding up play and making the experience more attractive to core golfers, occasional players and beginners. greatest numbers and getting few replacements.

The general idea is not new. Average golfers have never hit the ball as far as they think they do, nor do they reach as many greens as they think, let alone hit them in regulation. The statement "I can get it out there 300 when I really catch one," is the game's most common fish story.

But in the past few years, delusions have grown as average players have been pounded with the message that equipment innovations have dramatically increased their distance.

"Unfortunately, golfers are masochists," says Jack Nicklaus.

"They want a challenge but end up playing from the wrong tees.

The game needs to become more concise."

‘The game needs to become more concise’

The answer like most of the best ideas is essentially simple…it comes from Adams, an incisive thinker with a populist bent. The inventor of the Tight Lies fairway wood and a former club fitter who spent years studying how people really hit the ball as At the same time, they've felt the need to hit it opposed to how they think they do, Adams can't farther as many of the courses they play, especially stop analysing golfers. the newer "championship" layouts, have become longer.

He started to notice that his playing partners, all avid regular golfers, would play par 4s from tees The takeaway has been slower play, higher green that required them to hit woods and hybrids for fees and more frustration. Golf has been losing approaches and still not reach the green. players with women and youths leaving in the 10

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The County Sligo Golf Club

Issue 10 – September 2015

"I began to think it was like golfers have had a toothache for a long time," Adams says. "They've gotten used to the wrong thing."

and with a greater opportunity for memorable shots.

By Adams' calculation, this ‘Golfers means the amateur who drives the ball 200 yards don’t (closer to what the want the average golfer achieves) should be playing courses rules measuring about 6,000 altered’ yards. Many women, routinely forced to play tees in the 5,600-­‐yard range despite hitting drives of about 140 yards, should be playing from approximately 4,600 yards.

doesn't believe scoring will be dramatically affected. "Maybe a 13-­‐ handicap becomes a 10," he says. "That's where the Golf Associations would have to really get involved, to make sure handicaps don't lose equitableness.

Despite suggestions to the contrary, golfers don't want the rules of the game altered to make it easier. They want to play the traditional game, but in a way in which a round moves along more easily

If players are able to park their egos at the first tee, Adams will have contributed a worthwhile idea whose time might yet come.

Adams' biggest worry is the ‘This is power and stubbornness of In trying to figure out what the right thing should the m ale e go. " That's t he be, he first considered tour pros and how they about a highest hurdle," he says. rarely need more than a middle iron for an change of "Amateurs who think they approach. "We watch them and think, 'Man, can h it p ro-­‐type s hots a nd wouldn't it be fun to play the game like that?'" habits’ want to play from back tees Adams says. "Well, we can." don't realise that with He came up with a equipment advances they're farther behind where system he calls Tour pros hit the ball than ever. What was maybe a 40-­‐ Length. He yard difference 25 years ago is now 75 yards. calculated that for a pro to hit the same Adams emphasizes that his proposal is more clubs on approaches nuanced than mathematical shortening. He wants to stagger tees so that short par 3s maintain their as an amateur averaging 230-­‐yard length but at least one par 5 per course is reachable in two for the average player. drives on a 6,700-­‐ yard course, the pro's course would "I think it'll encourage people to think more about BARNEY ADAMS have to measure at their shots to the green, rather than just blasting another wood," he says. "That brings in shot-­‐ least 8,100 yards. Conversely, for the 230-­‐yard making, even for an average player, and that's what driver to hit the same clubs into greens as the pro really makes the game interesting." would on a 7,300-­‐yard layout, the amateur would have to play at no more than 6,200 yards.

For all that, Adams

"This is about a change of habits, which is always hard," he says, "but I think golfers are more aware than ever that the game is losing its way and a correction is needed."

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The County Sligo Golf Club

Issue 10 – September 2015

HOW TO REPAIR A PITCHMARK

Editor: Vincent McGee The County Sligo Golf Club 2015 ©

The views expressed in contributed articles are not necessarily the views of the editor of this publication or Co Sligo Golf Club. Editorial content and photographs cannot be reproduced without prior permission from the editor.